Canada, Finland, and Poland Do Not Restrict Use of Weapons Supplied to Ukraine
Three other countries have stated that they do not territorially restrict the use of weapons transferred to Ukraine to defend their territory from Russia's military aggression.
Canada has no objection to strikes on Russian territory with the weapons it has provided to Ukraine, as the Canadian authorities have no conditions for supplying weapons to Kyiv. This was stated by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly at a joint press conference with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bylstrom on Wednesday, 29 May.
‘Russia has no “red lines”. And that's why we have to make sure that when it comes to defending Ukraine, we are there to help them and that we show that no matter what happens, we are on their side. And there are no conditions in Canada on the supply of arms to Ukraine. And that is why we will continue to work with the Ukrainian Armed Forces,’ Joly said.
In turn, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen also said that Ukraine could retaliate against Russia with weapons provided by Finland. According to Valtonen, Ukraine, which is fighting a defensive war, can attack military targets on the territory of the attacker if it is necessary for self-defence.
‘Russia is waging an illegal war of aggression in Ukraine, and Ukraine has the right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. This also includes attacks on military targets on the attacker's territory necessary for self-defence,’ the Finnish Foreign Minister said.
Poland also did not impose any restrictions on the use of the weapons transferred to Ukraine outside the Ukrainian territory. This was stated by Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk in an interview with Radio ZET.
When asked whether the Polish equipment transferred to Ukraine could be used in Russia, he said: ‘they fight as they want’.
‘Ukraine has been brutally attacked, so it has the right to defend itself as it sees fit,’ Tomczyk said.
In his opinion, other countries should also lift such restrictions.
‘Poland does not impose any restrictions on the use of Polish weapons by Ukrainians,’ the politician comments, adding that Poland is still transferring weapons to Ukraine.